Recollections From A Wolven Priest
by fiberkitty
Summary: Jake's reflection on what it means to be a priest of the Hunter, and the sacrifices he has had to make. A little bit of darkness for Samhain. AU


**Recollections From a Wolven Priest**

**Warning: **_this is a tad dark, possibly a bit disturbing. I'll blame the NyQuil I'm on for this upper respiratory bug. Blessed (early) Samhain. _

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Twilight, nor its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. _Inspired by Heather Alexander's song Priestess of Tryblith. _

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**Jake POV  
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The others fought through their first changes, but it came naturally to me. He had courted me from childhood. I embraced the Wolf from my first breath, and I will until I die.

In childhood, I left Him gifts of meat. My human family did not have much, but I always left at least a bite aside for Him. Often, I hid it in my cheek until I could go outside and bury it in the woods that were His home. Other children played hide 'n' seek with their friends; I played with Him. I chased squirrels, rabbits, and small foxes through the woods until I grew fast enough to catch them.

He made me fast, agile, and strong. I grew taller than my friends, lanky and awkward, long before they did. I stayed in a disproportional limbo until they _changed. _ When the Cold Ones came back, His magic awakened in all our hearts. He made new demands on us. My small offerings were no longer enough.

Sam was first. He fought the hardest as he had not heard the Hunter's voice in his heart until the fever started. I understood though. With the new god sweeping through the lands of this modern world, the old gods had lost their following and His power had waned to little. He had pushed His magic into me upon my birth, making one last priest of the wolven ways.

I was still a bit too young to understand the changes occuring, and saw the other boys changing. Sam was able to help the others accept the magic and go through the ritual of transformation. Those who had His magic left us, staying apart. I grew distracted as I unconsciously awaited my turn to prove myself as His priest, found my mate, and she took me away from Him. She wasn't strong enough to keep me away for long. It took longer than my heart wanted, but He claimed me. The Hunter had spared me their pain until He needed me.

From His magic, my body grew until I thought it would burst, then it did. I was Him, or He was me, or the two of us just were everything that He was. My new body was made of ancient magic. The powers of all the sacrifices I had made filled me with His gifts.

With His power running through our veins, we joined forces with the Cold Ones to force the ancient evil within their brethren to distant shores. Others of the Hunter's kin would drive them further away. I watched my mate, the woman I chose, join with those leeches in human form. I killed countless animals to remind me of the warmth she once had after she became like _them_. Even now, I cannot fight the snarl building in my chest and throat as I think of her being one of those dark creatures.

Every winter, they came back, the immortal happy family, to visit her human parents. Beneath it all, I still felt the pull to make her mine. Each time, I found a dark-haired girl who smelled like her, took her to a cave in the woods, made her want me, coaxed pleasured screams from her throat, before I ripped her body apart for not being my Bella. Her remains were a holy sacrifice to the Hunter.

He rewarded me with powers beyond any of the other shifters, and I hid them behind my mundane daily routines, until the day He came to me. "Go away, My son," he had said to me. "Go to her city, so far away from My woods, and woo her to come to you. For one month, you must hide the moon in your spirit, and walk in the twilight of her world and ours. Hide your hate for the shadow-kin, and travel. Bring her to your cave."

So, I left my small home at the edge of the woods, and traveled for days wholly in the form of a man. She welcomed me with open arms, and for two weeks I played with her and their daughter. _He_ stayed away, giving me space as he read my mind. I knew of his abilities, and kept my thoughts focused on what I was doing, reconnecting with my one-time close friend.

As my days with Bella drew to a close, she did not wish for me to go and opted to fly back with me. The Cold One allowed her this visit to see her father and return home the following day. She came back with me after visiting Charlie; I showed her my home, and we ran through the woods together. Bella knew how to fly like the wind, and her laughter sang through my ears as we wrestled outside His sanctuary.

To the cave I led her, the mate He had always intended for me. There was no joy in my dance, and our song became one of pain, as I released her from her immortal chains. For weeks I lived happily in my little den, her wide, golden, shimmering eyes still open in her silent face. There was no accusation in her eyes as I set her carved stone countenance upon the altar to the Hunter. Her body I had shredded and then burned. With her venom upon my hands, I clung to Him in worship.

The other wolf-brothers did not understand what I had done, but with the Hunter's help, I took back His magic. Their bodies burned for Him as well. Each full moon, I see her eyes glowing in the woods, and I wrap His magic around me. In the shadows, I seek out her shade. When He is pleased with me, He sends her ghost to dance with me.

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Thank you so much for reading.

I have some exciting news. My original fiction, The Changeling's Champion, won the Supernatural category for The Writer's Coffee Shop's contest this fall and will be available on Thursday, October 28th both in print and as an e-book. The first chapter is up on TWCS, and official reviews are on my facebook author page. If you are interested, my profile page has links to more information.


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